On the Swing, Under the Drones
By: Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine
Prybuzke — Already eroded by four years of war, the municipal administration buildings of this small settlement south of Mykolaiv continue to be selectively targeted by the Russian Federation, which bombards them also during the day with artillery, long-range drones, and FPVs. The local school and the few facilities that remain (more or less) standing have barred doors and plywood panes instead of glass. Wandering through devastated gardens and streets scarred by various types of fire, we encountered a single civilian, who was moving with the aid of a walker on which he had installed a small radio playing Ukrainian folk songs.
Despite his difficulty walking, the man moved with such calmness that we thought he had purposely turned up the volume of the radio to drown out the thunder of the bombs and the bursts of anti-aircraft fire.
There was not a soul around us, and even crows were flying away from the fiery horizon.
Just as we approached to say hello, a long-range drone flew over Prybuzke at such a low altitude that it rattled the roof of our car. Nonchalantly, he responded with a smile, paying more attention to us than to the drone.
If we wrote that we sought shelter among the ruins, we would be doing the job of intermittent reporters. We continued just far enough to leave no trace for balloons and spy drones. Until another, more cheerful tune caught our attention: carried by the wind, it was easy to follow and led us to the back of the local kindergarten.
In a square torn apart by detonations, two little girls were playing on a swing while the theme songs of Ukrainian cartoons rang out from the speaker of a nearby smartphone. That creaking carousel was the only piece of equipment that had retained its original shape as far as our eyes could see. The Russian bombs had stripped away every human work, including the children’s drawings on the walls. More drones crossed the sky in the opposite direction to the previous one, just as we were recording some footage we’ve made available on this “La Ragione’s” YouTube channel.
They were ours. They were part of a tally that, for the first time since the start of the war, could see Ukraine surpass Russia in the number of drone strikes.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, there were 7,347 in March, based solely on those shot down: 237 per day. According to data released by the Ukrainian Air Force, 6,462 enemy drones were destroyed in the same month: more than Moscow has ever launched in that period. These figures, despite coming from opposing and inconsistent sources, confirm the shift in the balance of power in Ukraine’s favor, which we wrote about yesterday.
Seen from the field, this country’s long-term efforts are therefore starting to bear fruit.
What we observed in Prybuzke also confirms another piece of good news: the approach of the new Minister of Defense, Mykhailo Fedorov (formerly Minister of Technological Innovations), has enabled the immediate modernization of the Ukrainian air force.
Many helicopters and aircraft have already been upgraded with communications, navigation, and target detection systems, and others — according to his ministry — will be rapidly adapted to the needs of modern warfare.
Settlements like the one we are writing from live under the constant threat not only of relatively small, precision-guided strikes but also of KABs, Russian free-fall bombs converted into glide-guided aerial bombs thanks to extendable surfaces and the UMPK autonomous navigation module. Knowing that Ukraine is equipping itself with the tools needed to ward off death from the air from Russia is a significant boost of confidence.
It comes as Fire Point, the manufacturer of the fearsome Ukrainian “Flamingo” missiles, announced the development of a new air defense system that — according to the company’s own data — aims to become Ukraine’s alternative to the Patriot by the end of 2027. Having entered the final stages of production of two ballistic missiles (FP-7 and FP-9), Fire Point aims to reduce the cost of intercepting a similar enemy threat to less than a million dollars: up to one-twentieth less than the increasingly difficult-to-find American system.
The contrast between the resilience of the human factor of those remaining in villages like Prybuzke and the ballistic evolution of the conflict is clearly felt here.
In these places, war doesn’t break out only when the infantry advances.
People respond by turning up the music to mask the existence of a constant threat hovering in a sky that has become a perpetual assembly line of death.
Knowing that Ukraine is optimizing the cost-effectiveness of that kill chain indicates a success that isn’t measured solely by the scalability of decentralized industrial production of drones and medium- to long-range ballistic systems. It represents a significant reversal in the “drone war”,instilling a certain cautious optimism at a time when Moscow is increasing the psychological and material pressure on civilians with attacks so relentless they’re disrupting even their circadian rhythms.
In 1.500 days of war, we recorded over 250 videos from ground zero and wrote more than 1,500 articles.
We are doing our best to provide genuine, first-hand reports from zones where almost no press dares to go. This means living in a kill zone constantly. We take the risk, but without your invaluable support, our voices would remain unheard and silent. Without brave people sharing our articles from afar, they would remain unread. Our reports would go unseen, and our efforts would be lost. There’s still a lot of work to do here, as the people around us are also in no better situation.
We’re renewing our fundraising campaign and thanking everyone who joins us in helping to restore what Russia is destroying. Moving forward with only a small reimbursement for each article from a brave newspaper that believes in us is extremely challenging. That’s why we are grateful to all the kind people who support us and trust in our mission.
Even a small donation helps.
We’ll keep you updated on developments.
Thank you all, dear friends
在秋千上，在无人机下
作者：Giorgio Provinciali
翻译：旺财球球
乌克兰前线报道
普里布茲克——这座位于尼古拉耶夫南部的小镇，其已被四年战争侵蚀的千疮百孔的市政办公楼，仍持续遭到俄罗斯联邦的定点轰炸。纵使白天也遭受俄军炮火、远程无人机和FPV的袭击。当地尚能勉强屹立的学校和为数不多的设施都以胶合板钉住门窗，玻璃早已不复存在。走过被各种火力炸毁的花园和街道，我们只遇见一位平民，他靠助行器缓步而行，助行器上放着一台播放乌克兰民歌的小收音机。
（图：我与Alla在乌克兰普里布茲克报道—— 版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
尽管行走不便，这名男子却走得异常平静，我们甚至以为他是故意把收音机开大声，借此掩盖炸弹的轰鸣与防空火力的爆裂声。
周围一个人影都没有，连乌鸦都飞离了那燃烧的地平线。
正当我们上前打招呼时，一架远程无人机以极低的高度掠过普里布茲克，震动了我们的车顶。那名男子若无其事地向我们微笑，更在意我们而非无人机。
若说我们在废墟中躲避，那就沦为间歇性记者了。我们继续前行，远到监视气球与侦察机捕捉不到我们的痕迹。直到另一段更欢快的旋律引起我们的注意：随风传来，容易追寻，最终将我们带到当地幼儿园后方。
（图：我与Alla在乌克兰普里布茲克报道 —— 版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
在一处被炸裂的广场上，两个小女孩在秋千上玩耍，附近智能手机的扬声器里正放着乌克兰动画片的主题曲。那座吱嘎作响的旋转木马是我们所见范围内唯一仍保留原状的游乐设施。俄军的炸弹摧毁了所有人类的劳动成果，甚至包括墙上的儿童画。就在我们为本报《La Ragione》的 YouTube 频道录制影像时，更多无人机从相反的方向掠空而过。
那些无人机是我们的。它们构成的统计显示，在战争爆发以来首次显示出乌克兰在无人机出击次数上或已超过俄罗斯。
俄国防部仅以被击落数量计算称，三月有7,347架：平均每日237架。乌克兰空军公布的数据则显示，同月摧毁了6,462架敌机：超过莫斯科在该时期所发射的数量。尽管这些数据来自相互对立且并非完全一致的来源，但仍证实了权力天平向乌克兰倾斜的转变，正如我们昨日所写。
（TopLeadEU 的每周摘要 ——图片来源：TopLeadEU）
从前线看，这个国家长期付出的努力开始显现成果。
我们在普里布茲克所见也证实另一条好消息：新任国防部长米哈伊洛·费多罗夫（原科技创新部长）的上任，使得乌克兰空军得以立即推进现代化。
据其部门称，许多直升机和飞机已升级通信、导航及目标探测系统，其他机型也将在短期内迅速适应现代战争的需求。
像我们所处的这些的聚居区，不仅面临相对小型的精确制导打击的持续威胁，还有KAB等武器——俄方通过伸展翼面与UMP K自主导航模块将自由落体炸弹改装为滑翔制导炸弹。得知乌克兰正装备足以抵御来自俄罗斯的空中致命打击，令人颇感振奋。
（视频：我接受《伦敦时报》“前线”栏目记者艾米·凯洛格的采访 —— 版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
同时，乌克兰令人畏惧的“火烈鸟”导弹的制作公司，Fire Point，宣布开发一种新防空系统，据其数据，该系统计划在2027年底前成为乌克兰版“爱国者”替代方案。Fire Point已进入两型弹道导弹（FP-7与FP-9）生产的最后阶段，目标是将拦截类似威胁的成本降至不到一百万美元：是日益难觅的美制系统的二十分之一。
（图：Alla与我在乌克兰普里布茲克市中心报道—— 版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
在普里布兹克这样的村庄，村落中幸存者的坚韧与战争的弹道升级之间的反差，在此体现的淋漓尽致。
在这些地方，战争并非仅在步兵推进时爆发。
人们通过把音乐开大声来回应威胁，让音乐掩盖一个在天空中永不停歇的死亡流水线。
乌克兰正在优化这条“杀戮链”的性价比，这一成就不仅体现在无人机及中远程弹道系统分散化工业生产的可扩展性上，也代表了在“无人机战争”中的重大逆转，在莫斯科不断以密集轰炸制造心理与物质压力、甚至扰乱平民昼夜节律的当下，这种逆转带来一丝谨慎的乐观。
（图：Alla与我在乌克兰普里布茲克录制的影像 —— 版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
***
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